A.Word.A.Day

A.Word.A.Day--holus-bolus

holus-bolus (HO-luhs BO-luhs) adverb

All at once.

[Apparently a reduplication of bolus (lump), or a rhyming compound
based on the phrase whole bolus.]

"On the 30th anniversary of the Canadian switchover, metric enthusiast
Greg Peterson, who runs the One Metre website, said the new speed signs
came in largely holus-bolus. 'There was no question about it, there was
no gradual phase-in period,' he said."
Estanislao Oziewicz; Ireland Makes the Switch to Metric Speed Limits;
The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada); Jan 20, 2005.

"The unions are somewhat encouraged by the fact that new public enterprises
minister Alec Erwin appears to have moved back significantly from the
'policy juggernaut' of holus-bolus privatisation for Spoornet."
Lynda Loxton; Spoornet is a Beast of Missed Opportunities; Business Report
(Johannesburg, South Africa); Jan 17, 2005.

This week's theme: reduplicatives.

X-Bonus

All art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster's autobiography.
-Federico Fellini, film director, and writer (1920-1993)